wilder



2 Sheets-Sheet 1. A. A. WILDER.

Safety Governor for Elevators, 8&0. No. 230,514. Patented July 27,1880.

. I INVEN'IQR ATTORNEY N.PEYERS, PNOTO-LIKHDGRAPNER. WASHINGTON- Dv C,

' A. A, W ILDER. Safety Governor for Elevators, 8100.

No. 230,514. Patented Jul 27,1880.

IIIIIIHIIU IT In I. I In ATTORNEY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. I

UNITED STATES PATENT OrFIcE,

ARETUS A. WILDER, or DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR on ONE-HALF F HIS. RIGHT TO oonvnon B. PALMER, or SAME PLACE.

SAFETY-GOVERNOR FOR ELEVATORS, 800,.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 230,514, dated July 27, 1880.

Application filed December 18, 1879.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, ARETUS A. WILDER, of Detroit, county of Wayne, State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Safety-Governors for Elevators, 850.; and I declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use it, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to safety-governors, designed more especially for passenger and freight elevators, but equally well adapted for inclined-plane railways, brakes for cars and other vehicles, or for use on the elevating apparatus of mines, 850.

My invention consists in the combinations of devices and appliances hereinafter de-' scribed, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of an elevator with one of my safety-governors attached Fig. 2, a side view of same with 2 5 parts broken away, so as to show the governor,

and representing the cylinders in section to illustrate the brake or pump mechanism.

In describing the device I will presume it to be employed as a safety mechanism on an ele- 0 vator, so that should the rope break it would govern the descent of the carriage.

A is an elevator-carriage; B, its guides or ways. 0 is astationary rack. In my governing mechanism D is a cylinder, with ports E.

5 communicating with the adjacent cylinder or compartment F. G is an adjustable valve for enlarging or diminishing the size of one of the ports E. D is a piston or plunger in the cylinder or compartment D, and D a piston-rod,

0 which, by means of the pitman H, connects it with the crank l of the shaft J.

Sleeved upon the shaft J is the pinion K, which meshes with the stationary rack 0. The pinion K has a suitable pawl-and-ratchet 5 connection, L M, with the shaft J, so that as the elevator ascends the pinion will revolve,

but its ratchet M will ride over the pawl L;

but on its descent the two will engage and operate the piston D in the compartment D.

The operation of the device is as follows:

, carriage.

The cylinders or compartments D and F are filled full both above and below the plunger with water, oil, or any suitable liquid, and the valve G is so adjusted that sufficient impediment is offered to the flow of the oil through 5 5 the ports E to constrain the pistonto move only at the desired rate, corresponding with the desired rapidity of descent of the elevator- Now, as the elevator rises, the ratchet in the pinion K will ride freely over its pawl, and the piston does not move; but on the descent of the elevator the pawl and ratchet engage, and the liquid is pumped alternately from above the piston through the ports around into the space below the piston, and vice versa,

Should the rope break or any accident occur the elevator can, manifestly, descend no faster than the piston can be operated in its cylinders. It the valve is so adjusted as to leave the port E quite free, then the rate of descent may be quite rapid. If the valve is so adjusted as to considerably restrict the passage of the liquid through the port the rate of descent may thereby be made as slow as may 7 be desirable. If the port is closed by the valve the elevator will remain suspended.

I In practical use as a safety-governor the valve should be adjusted to permit the elevator to descend at its usual rate, and to come into use as a governor only when by accident or otherwise the descent is too rapid.

This mechanism may, if desired, be employed as a means, within reach and control of the operator, whereby the descent of the elevator 8 5 may be controlled in ordinary use. With elevators as ordinarily made the descent is governed by the operator through the medium of a rope or rod leading to an engine or pumpvalve below; but by my mechanism the operator, 0 by means of the valve, may start the elevator down, stop it, and regulate its speed at will.

It may also be employed upon inclined planes, in the shafts of mines, and upon railway-cars or elsewhere as a brake, or'as asafe- 5 ty-governor.

The valve mechanism may be operated by a screw and hand-wheel, as shown in the drawings, or it may be actuated by a lever or other device. If employed as a brake a suitable 10c stop should be provided, so that the operator may not check the vehicle so suddenly as to endanger the burstin gof the governor or breaking of its parts.

The valve shown is a slide-valve; but I do not limit myself to any particular kind of valve, for it may be made in the nature of a through-cock or rotary valve of any character.

In order-to prevent the possibility of the upright and elevator springing away from each other to such an extent as to disengage the pinion from the rack, there may be employed, if necessary, a retainin g-clutch, projecti n gfrom the carriage adjacent to the pinion, and embracing the upright or the rack, so as to hold them together. This clutching mechanism may be of any suitable nature. Thus the upright or the side of the rack may have a dovetailed groove, into which the dovetailed tenon ot the clutch may project.

Instead of employing two compartments, D

F, the same result may be accomplished with one, the passages which unite the space above.

with that below the plunger being either through the adjacent wall or through the plunger itself.

What I claim is- 1. A safety-governor consisting of two cylinders connected at their ends by suitable ports, a valve for regulating the size of one of said ports, and a piston arranged to reciprocate in one of said cylinders, in combination with a crank-shaft provided with a gear-wheel that meshes with a stationary rack, said gearwheel being connected with the crank-shaft so 3 5 as to be locked thereto when turned in one direction and revolved independently thereof when revolved in the opposite direction, substantially as set forth.

2. The combinatiomwith an elevator-carriage, ot' a safetygovernor attached thereto, said governor consisting of two cylinders connected at their ends by suitable ports, a valve for regulating the opening in one of said ports, a piston arranged to reciprocate in one of said cylinders, a crankshaft provided with a gearwheel that engages with a stationary rack attached to the elevator-guideways, said gearwheel being connected with the crank-shaft so as to be locked thereto when turned in one direction and revolved independentlythereof when revolved in the opposite direction, substantially set forth.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

ARETUS A. \VILDER.

\Vitnesses:

S. E. THOMAS, WILL. M. PORTER. 

